Ex-Idaho lawmaker accused of rape says sex was consensual

By REBECCA BOONE

Associated Press

BOISE — A former Idaho state lawmaker accused of raping a Statehouse intern last year took the stand Thursday to testify in his defense, describing the sexual contact as the culmination of a first date.

Aaron von Ehlinger, 39, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of rape and sexual penetration with a foreign object — both charges carry a maximum penalty of up to life in prison — and maintains he had consensual sex with the woman.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, and has referred to the woman in this case as “Jane Doe” at her request.

During his testimony, von Ehlinger often spoke in a clear, loud voice directly to jurors, saying he and Doe decided to return to his apartment to “hang out” after eating at a fancy Boise restaurant. Then they began making out on the couch, he said.

“Things were going well, and I asked (Doe) if she would like to move to the bedroom,” von Ehlinger said. “She said ‘Sure.’ We got up, held hands and walked into the bedroom.”

Doe was a 19-year-old intern when she told her supervisors that von Ehlinger, who was then a Republican representative from Lewiston, raped her in March 2021 at his Boise apartment after the two had dinner at a restaurant. Von Ehlinger later resigned from the House of Representatives last year after a legislative ethics committee recommended that he be banned from the Statehouse because of his conduct with Doe.

Earlier this week, jurors heard from investigators and a nurse who performed a rape exam. They testified that Doe reported being pinned down while von Ehlinger forced her to perform oral sex, and that she knew he frequently carried a handgun and had placed it on a dresser near the bed at the time of the assault. A nurse also testified that Doe had a “goose egg” on the back of her head from striking the wall or a headboard while trying to jerk her head away from von Ehlinger's grip.

On Wednesday, the jury also briefly heard from Jane Doe, but the judge instructed them not to consider her testimony after Doe fled before she could be questioned by the defense.

Doe haltingly described the moments the alleged assault began, before abruptly leaving the witness stand.

“I can’t do this,” she said, quickly walking out of the courtroom.

Before von Ehlinger took the stand, Judge Michael Reardon rejected a motion from the defense attorney suggesting von Ehlinger should be acquitted on all charges.

The lawyer, Jon Cox, said there wasn’t sufficient evidence — based on the statements that Doe made to Anne Wardle, the nurse who examined the intern after the alleged rape — that she adequately resisted von Ehlinger’s advances.

“I would submit that there’s no testimony from Ms. Wardle that (Doe) did nothing other than make excuses for why she didn’t want to do it," Cox said. “I don’t think that rises to the level of being against her will — she didn’t say, 'Don’t do that, I don’t want that.'”

But Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Katelyn Farley said Cox was mischaracterizing the testimony, noting that Wardle and investigators testified that Doe told them she said no.

Farley also said the testimony showed that von Ehlinger was much bigger than Doe, carried a gun, physically pulled her onto a couch and carried her into the bedroom and that she resisted in several ways.

The judge rejected Cox's motion and referred to additional testimony from Wardle.

“As I have heard the evidence it appears to me there is sufficient evidence of use of force — statements about her jerking her head back and hitting the wall causing an appreciable bruise," Reardon said.